Keystones in Bejeweled Blitz on Facebook look to change how you play

For some 3.2 million daily players, matching exploding gems and blasting them with a kitten's laser eyes never gets old. For others, Bejeweled Blitz might get a tad stale the millionth time around. That's why EA-owned PopCap has introduced Keystones to match-three puzzler on Facebook. Basically a fancy name for quests, these challenges look to change the way you play daily.

Keystones appear at the bottom of the game screen just before each round of gem genocide, tasking you with unique challenges that must be completed within the allotted time for hefty rewards like thousands of coins or experience points. For instance, one Keystone may require players to clear, say, 70 red gems within two days time for 85,000 XP. Another challenge might see players trying to score a mere 100,000 points or make no invalid moves within a single game for a small fortune in coins.

The idea behind Keystones, according to a PopCap blog post pimping the feature, is to get players to play differently every day and not just go for the highest score all the time. Sure, Bejeweled Blitz is about the heat of competition, but it's also about fun. Of course, the game's power-ups work to help players along in completing keystones, like the Mystery Gem. Here's a good reason to try completing Keystones: Some of them will reward you with Rare Gems, like the Cat's Eye. Now get to smashing those shinies.

Are you excited to try out this new way to play? What other ways do you think PopCap could mix its games up? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment.